Over my cycling career my mantra has always been; miles, miles and more miles. I was so frustrated that I'd been bonking on 80 and 85 mile rides. I decided to add a few miles at low intensity to my weekly routine. I also decided to not worry about the intensity of my rides, just concentrate on a few more miles and let that work its magic. This seems to be working.
Today's ride, with Amy, Steven, Brian, Gabrielle and Jack, was hot, humid and windy - a real tough combination of adverse weather conditions. About 15-20 miles of head-on 15 to 20 mph winds, and another 20 to 30 miles of crosswinds, coupled with temps in the low 90's and dew points near 70, sucked a lot of energy out of us. Fluids were vital. I downed 4 bottles of water and 32oz of Gatorade, that's a lot for me.
The thing is, I felt good for the entire ride, and even felt like I wanted to do more when we got home. It's been a long time since I felt like that after a ride. It's nice that it's coming back. I don't expect to return to the abilities I had in my 40's, but it sure is nice to be feeling good about my effort again. I've got really good friends that encourage me and help me out. It was a good day on the bike. 85/19.3
Old US169 is a Favorite
Trail Along The Minnesota River Near Bloomington
90's in Late Summer
1 comment:
Hmmm something to think about. The "Zip" and the mileage has been struggling for a couple of months now. I know the old gray mare ain't what she used to be...however I would like to see more out of my legs then I have lately.
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